Judy Davis - Tough Momma behind a Great Designer in“The Dressmaker”

Tilly Dunnage (Kate Winslet) can create, transform people and can
bring to life every body’s assets hidden beneath the wrong sheets of fabrics
and patterns. In “The Dressmaker”
Academy Award winner Kate Winslet and Academy Award nominee Judy Davis star alongside
as mother and daughter in a story about revenge clothed in exquisitely
surprising creations.

Tilly/Myrtle was
then ten years old when she was sent away and separated from her mother Molly
(Davis), accused of a crime she herself couldn’t understand. Twenty years
after, armed with a Singer sewing machine and courage to come back to care for
her mother and uncover the truth behind the accusations thrown at her. Tilly reconnects with the townsfolk one stich
at a time as she finds herself closer to the truth behind her past, eventually
falling for the town’s local football hero, Teddy McSwiney (Liam Hemsworth)
whose family has also looked after Molly in her absence. Most importantly, she
forms an initially volatile but finally tender reconciliation with her mother
Molly.

Based on the
highly-acclaimed book by Rosalie Ham, the character of Tilly seems drawn, at
least in part, from Rosalie’s mother. “My mother was one of the dressmakers in
Jerilderie. She happened to be divorced, and so there was a certain amount of
scandal that was attached to that. She had to make a living as a seamstress.
And I saw the difference in her role as the seamstress as opposed to the other
ladies who were in the hierarchy of the town that wanted beautiful frocks made
by her.

The casting of
Tilly’s mother Molly Dunnage was crucial, but it had secretly been decided from
the outset. Director Jocelyn Moorhouse says: “Judy Davis is a brilliant
actress, one of the world’s best. In Woody Allen’s Husbands And Wives, she was
so funny and I thought she will nail Molly, but she won’t just be funny, she’ll
be really beautiful as this woman who’s had to put up with so much pain in her
life but still has a great sense of humour.”

Judy Davis’ range, gravitas, wit and edge would be
the perfect counterpoint to Kate Winslet. Sue says: “From Jocelyn and my
perspective, you could not ask for anything more than to work with two of the
greatest actresses working in the world today, Judy Davis and Kate Winslet and
to put them together in a movie and see the magic.”

Molly Dunnage, or ‘Mad Molly’ as she’s casually
known, is Tilly’s acerbic, unpredictable, and not-as-mad-as-she-seems mother.
Molly says things, hurtful things, particularly to her daughter, which she may
or may not mean. Like her daughter, Molly is sharp and forthright, she tells
the residents of Dungatar how she sees it.

Sue Maslin says of the importance of Molly to the
fabric of the film: “The thing that really helped right from the beginning was
that Jocelyn said, ‘You know, all these things happen to Tilly, and yes there
is a love story (with Teddy McSwiney) but the real love story is a
mother-daughter relationship.’ And I thought, she’s so right - the relationship
between Tilly and Molly is actually the emotional heartbeat that anchors
everything else that happens in the film.”

Liam Hemsworth points to the special bond that Teddy
McSwiney and Molly share. “A lot of people in Dungatar will talk behind
people’s backs, Molly doesn’t do that, she’s upfront, she’ll call people out when
it’s deserved and Teddy likes that. She’s got a lot of spirit.”

The film is replete with beautiful creations –
sumptuous, elegant, even startling ones, depending on who’s wearing them and
what the intended effect is on the part of the creator, as well as the
wearer.Of the end results, and of her own character, who avoids transformation,
Judy Davis says: “I think the costumes are absolutely wonderful. Given the size
of the film, and limited time, Marion Boyce did a tremendous job. Molly didn’t
have much of a wardrobe thank God, so that was pretty simple!”

“The Dressmaker” opens in theaters this November 4
from AxiniteDigicinema.